508 research outputs found
Set voltage distribution stabilized by constructing an oxygen reservoir in resistive random access memory
In this letter, the instability mechanism of RRAM was investigated, and a technique was developed to stabilize the distribution of high resistance state (HRS) and better concentrate the SET voltage. In previous research, we found that an interface-type switching characteristic was observed on the I-V curve beneath the filament-type switching behavior, owing to the oxygen accumulation effect. In this letter, this interface-type switching characteristic is used to fit the natural distribution of HRS for an analysis of the instability mechanism. According to the results, the reason for the HRS distribution is the accumulation of extra oxygen ions which are left over from a lower degree of oxygen and oxygen vacancy recombination during the reset process. We propose a solution which creates an extra oxygen reservoir by changing the surface topography of the electrode to store the surplus oxygen ions from the reset process, eliminating the accumulation effect, and indeed improving stability.
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Low-energy electronic recoil in xenon detectors by solar neutrinos
Low-energy electronic recoil caused by solar neutrinos in multi-ton xenon
detectors is an important subject not only because it is a source of the
irreducible background for direct searches of weakly-interacting massive
particles (WIMPs), but also because it provides a viable way to measure the
solar and neutrinos at the precision level of current
standard solar model predictions. In this work we perform
many-body calculations for the structure, photoionization, and
neutrino-ionization of xenon. It is found that the atomic binding effect yields
a sizable suppression to the neutrino-electron scattering cross section at low
recoil energies. Compared with the previous calculation based on the free
electron picture, our calculated event rate of electronic recoil in the same
detector configuration is reduced by about . We present in this paper the
electronic recoil rate spectrum in the energy window of 100 eV - 30 keV with
the standard per ton per year normalization for xenon detectors, and discuss
its implication for low energy solar neutrino detection (as the signal) and
WIMP search (as a source of background).Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Atomic ionization by sterile-to-active neutrino conversion and constraints on dark matter sterile neutrinos with germanium detectors
The transition magnetic moment of a sterile-to-active neutrino conversion
gives rise to not only radiative decay of a sterile neutrino, but also its
non-standard interaction (NSI) with matter. For sterile neutrinos of keV-mass
as dark matter candidates, their decay signals are actively searched for in
cosmic X-ray spectra. In this work, we consider the NSI that leads to atomic
ionization, which can be detected by direct dark matter experiments. It is
found that this inelastic scattering process for a nonrelativistic sterile
neutrino has a pronounced enhancement in the differential cross section at
energy transfer about half of its mass, manifesting experimentally as peaks in
the measurable energy spectra. The enhancement effects gradually smear out as
the sterile neutrino becomes relativistic. Using data taken with germanium
detectors that have fine energy resolution in keV and sub-keV regimes,
constraints on sterile neutrino mass and its transition magnetic moment are
derived and compared with those from astrophysical observations
Virtual reality training and assessment in laparoscopic rectum surgery
Background: Virtual-reality (VR) based simulation techniques offer an efficient and low cost alternative to conventional surgery training. This article describes a VR training and assessment system in laparoscopic rectum surgery. Methods: To give a realistic visual performance of interaction between membrane tissue and surgery tools, a generalized cylinder based collision detection and a multi-layer mass-spring model are presented. A dynamic assessment model is also designed for hierarchy training evaluation. Results: With this simulator, trainees can operate on the virtual rectum with both visual and haptic sensation feedback simultaneously. The system also offers surgeons instructions in real time when improper manipulation happens. The simulator has been tested and evaluated by ten subjects. Conclusions: This prototype system has been verified by colorectal surgeons through a pilot study. They believe the visual performance and the tactile feedback are realistic. It exhibits the potential to effectively improve the surgical skills of trainee surgeons and significantly shorten their learning curve. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Antimicrobial susceptibility and clinical outcomes of Candida parapsilosis bloodstream infections in a tertiary teaching hospital in Northern Taiwan
BackgroundCandida parapsilosis is an emerging non-albicans Candida that is associated with central line-associated infection. C. parapsilosis has higher minimal inhibitory concentration to echinocandin than Candida albicans, and the effects of echinocandin on C. parapsilosis are ambiguous. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the susceptibility and the correlation between incidence and drug consumption.MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital in northern Taiwan between 2008 and 2012. The Candida species distribution, the correlation between the use of antifungal agents and the incidence of C. parapsilosis bloodstream infection, demographic information, clinical characteristics, mortality rate, and in vitro susceptibility of C. parapsilosis were analyzed.ResultsA total of 77 episodes from 77 patients were included for analysis. The overall 90-day mortality rate was 41.6%. The incidence of C. parapsilosis bloodstream infection showed a moderate positive correlation with the increased defined daily dose of echinocandin. The risk factors associated with mortality included malignancy or a metastatic tumor. Multivariate logistical regression analysis showed that patients with malignancy had higher odds ratios in terms of mortality. The rate of C. parapsilosis resistance to fluconazole was 3%, whereas the susceptibility rate was 95.5%.ConclusionUnderlying comorbidity and malignancy were factors leading to death in patients with C. parapsilosis bloodstream infection. Catheter removal did not influence the mortality rate. The survival rate of patients receiving echinocandin was lower than the group receiving fluconazole. Fluconazole remains the drug of choice to treat C. parapsilosis bloodstream infections
Review of Recently Progress on Neural Electronics and Memcomputing Applications in Intrinsic SiOx-Based Resistive Switching Memory
In this chapter, we focus on the recent process on memcomputing (memristor + computing) in intrinsic SiOx-based resistive switching memory (ReRAM or called memristor). In the first section of the chapter, we investigate neuromorphic computing by mimicking the synaptic behaviors in integrating one-diode and one-resistive switching element (1D-1R) architecture. The power consumption can be minimized further in synaptic functions because sneak-path current has been suppressed and the capability for spike-induced synaptic behaviors has been demonstrated, representing critical milestones and achievements for the application of conventional SiOx-based materials in future advanced neuromorphic computing. In the next section of chapter, we will discuss an implementation technique of implication operations for logic-in-memory computation by using a SiOx-based memristor. The implication function and its truth table have been implemented with the unipolar or nonpolar operation scheme. Furthermore, a circuit with 1D-1R architecture with a 4 Ă— 4 crossbar array has been demonstrated, which realizes the functionality of a one-bit full adder as same as CMOS logic circuits with lower design area requirement. This chapter suggests that a simple, robust approach to realize memcomputing chips is quite compatible with large-scale CMOS manufacturing technology by using an intrinsic SiOx-based memristor
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